Is lupus a serious autoimmune disease?
Is lupus a serious autoimmune disease?
Lupus is a chronic (long-term) disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any part of your body. It's an autoimmune disease, which means that your immune system — the body system that usually fights infections — attacks healthy tissue instead. Lupus most commonly affects your: Skin.
What are the four signs of lupus?
Lupus facial rash
- Fatigue.
- Fever.
- Joint pain, stiffness and swelling.
- Butterfly-shaped rash on the face that covers the cheeks and bridge of the nose or rashes elsewhere on the body.
- Skin lesions that appear or worsen with sun exposure.
- Fingers and toes that turn white or blue when exposed to cold or during stressful periods.
How does a person get lupus?
Infections, Sun Exposure, Drugs, and Stress Play a Role in Why Some People Get Lupus. Just because you have a specific genetic predisposition doesn't necessarily mean you'll get lupus.
Can lupus go away?
There's currently no cure for lupus. Treatment of lupus is focused on controlling your symptoms and limiting the amount of the damage the disease does to your body. The condition can be managed to minimize the impact lupus has on your life, but it will never go away.
What is the life expectancy of someone with lupus?
With close follow-up and treatment, 80-90% of people with lupus can expect to live a normal life span. It is true that medical science has not yet developed a method for curing lupus, and some people do die from the disease. However, for the majority of people living with the disease today, it will not be fatal.
Is lupus inherited from mother or father?
Twenty percent of people who have lupus will, at some point, have a parent or sibling with lupus. About 5% of children born to a parent with lupus will develop the disease. In people with no lupus in their family history, other autoimmune diseases are more likely.
Is lupus caused by stress?
Although doctors haven't proven that stress is a direct cause of lupus, it's known to trigger flare-ups in people who already have the disease. Stressful events that can make symptoms worse include: A death in the family. Divorce.
Is weight gain a symptom of lupus?
Weight changes — Lupus can sometimes cause weight loss or weight gain. Weight loss may be unintentional and due to decreased appetite or problems with the digestive system (see 'Digestive system' below).
